Copper

Our “Guide Talk” with the Intricate Bay Lodge guides was an epic one. In this case, we had 5 different guides during our week at IBL and rather than interview them separately, we decided to do just one big, fun “talk” with them all. What this did was make what is normally an 8-10 minute video into a 39 min video. I know, it’s long, but ohhhhhhh is it worth it. So to help you view the video, we’ve segmented the video so you can jump to those sections you might enjoy immediately. We hope you’ll watch the entire video, however, as the amazing, hilarious guides we’d had tell stories, share ideas and give great fishing info. If you’d like to watch the entire video at once, click here. Otherwise….

Meet all five of our guides (and pilot “T-Bird”) as they share their background information and first guiding experience. They came from all corners of the US (and world) including Wyoming, Maine, Alaska, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Patagonia. We even had a power outage during introductions to remind us we were “off the grid” at IBL.

The Copper River is the “home water” for IBL as it’s only a short, but erm… what’s the right word?…. intriguing?… surprising?… unnerving?… stimulating?…. “ride” on a jet boat from the lodge across Intricate Bay, Lake Iliamna. Chace Booth, head guide at IBL explains what makes this stream so very special.

We fished 5 different streams in the area, two that fed into Lake Iliamna (Copper & Gibraltar) and three inside Katmai National Park (Moraine Creek, Battle Creek, Alagnak). The guides pick their favorites and explain why in each case. Our favorites were….. stay tuned 🙂

A question we always as our guides is the “One Fly” question. If you only had one fly to fish the river, what would it be. We knew the two we’d fished most all week with them, but it was interesting to hear their take on it. Make sure to watch if you’re wanting to fill your fly box in advance of your trip to fish these streams. Also, we found out that BEARS enter into this discussion in a most interesting way.

A favorite of ours to ask our guides is what kinds of crazy questions their clients ask. Chace jumps in on this one with one of the questions we’ve heard repeatedly along our River Ramble…. “Why did I lose that fish?” His answer is most enlightening and comforting.

We saw 8 – 10 bears on a daily basis while fishing the area streams. We were briefed a bit on day one by our guides, but it really doesn’t prepare you for the reality when a bear jumps into the hole you’re getting ready to fish and proceeds to fish it and then walk right over to the gravel bar you’re sitting on. It does however beg another crazy question. Watch to see and hear all the ways our guides…um…. “deal” with such situations.. including the “Alaska Insurance Policy”.

If you’re going to go all the way to Alaska to fish, you want to maximize your time with your guides on the water. Listen while the IBL guides share their best tips on how to make sure you get the most of your Alaska fishing experience. Their tips are valid for any destination fishing trip you might take.

Barb and I can tell you why we loved the lodge, the meals, etc…. but the biggest reason is the guides and the feeling of a family fishing trip you get. Hear the guides perspectives as our “Guide Talk” concludes.

Our time at IBL was incredible special. Keep rechecking our blog site for more posts from our time at IBL and our other stops from our “30 Days in Alaska” ramble.